Whats On

Blues Harvest Holiday Special

Preston's only Star Wars themed band BLUES HARVEST return to the Continental for their annual 'Holiday Special' (borrowing the event title from the ill fated 1978 Star Wars TV special).

Blues Harvest have built up a cult following through their diverse song choices from the world of movies, TV and a few guilty pleasures along the way.

With set highlights including music from Star Wars, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters, Guardians of the Galaxy and many more, Blues Harvest is the perfect band to celebrate the sci-fi, comics and fantasy genres.

Fronted by comic book illustrator Nick Brokenshire (Dark Horse / 2000AD / IDW) this geek-rock five piece have regularly been joined on stage by performers from all areas of the Star Wars franchise, including Taylor Gray (Star Wars Rebels), David W Collins (The Force Awakens / Rogue One), Stephen Costantino (Return of the Jedi), Jerome Blake (The Phantom Menace) and Laurie Goode (A New Hope).

Last year the band performed alongside Ash at Star Wars Celebration’s ‘#CANTINA’ at the Brooklyn Bowl, O2 London. Recently they have caught the attention of Luke Skywalker himself, as actor Mark Hamill declared one of their recent songs (a cover of The Kinks' classic 'Waterloo Sunset', reworked as 'Tatooine Sunset') as "Magnificent! The original Kinks classic has always moved me to tears and I now declare THIS as my official, unofficial Luke theme song! The lyrics, performance and John Williams' theme fade-out: PERFECTION."

Plus special guests...

FIGHTING

Proud sons of Preston, FIGHTING play the kind of fast, hook-driven Post-Punk that rattles your bones and soothes your brain. They have been staples of the Preston scene for years; think Gang of Four meets Death From Above 1979. Buzzcocks having tea with Mclusky. Roxy Music having a cuddle with The Hives. Fast, Catchy Punk delivered with a wry smile and a warm embrace.

November sees the release of their 5th EP, ‘Saturday Night is Alright For…’, their most ambitious and accomplished work to date. They’ve spent the last few years playing across the Northwest, playing numerous festivals like Rebellion and Smithdown Road in Liverpool, supporting and playing alongside the likes of White Lies, Evil Blizzard, Idles, Sweet Deals on Surgery, Mike Watt from The Minutemen and many more. We’re looking forward to them joining our festive proceedings.

POP-UP PUPPET CINEMA

The best way to describe POP-UP PUPPET CINEMA is like Punch and Judy colliding with Hollywood. PPC condense classic films into live puppet shows, mocking the originals with plenty of warmth and admiration. And it simply wouldn't be Christmas without a puppet Bruce Willis crawling through air vents to fight off German terrorists at the Nakatomi Plaza, as the troupe present their adaptation of DIE HARD. Welcome to the party, pals!